Known plugs or plug connectors, used in a variety of applications, have a plug housing and an electrically conductive plug contact disposed in the plug housing. The plug contact is generally formed from a plate of metal and has surfaces cooperating with a mating plug contact of a mating plug connector to form an electrically conductive path inside the mated connectors.
The dimensions and in particular a cable cross-section of the electrically conductive plug contact depends on the strength of the current which is to be transferred via the plug connection. The plug contacts are generally produced from a sheet material by stamping and bending. The quality of an electrical contact between the plug contact and the mating plug contact is influenced by forming elastic protrusions and other elements molded integrally on the sheet plate for securely electrically transferring and mechanically securing the plug contact. Additional devices are known which mechanically connect plug housings of plug connectors and mating plug connectors to each other in order to avoid the plug connector and mating plug connector from disconnecting during operation. In certain applications, such as for a plug connector used to connect various components inside an electric vehicle, the plug connector can be subject to vibration.
It is known to use a box spring to secure the mechanical and electrical contact of the plug contact and mating plug contact. The box spring engages over at least one of the plug contact and mating plug contact and additionally secures the contacts against each other and/or the plug housing. The box spring, however, does not offer the necessary security against defective attachment. Production processes, in particular in the motor vehicle industry, must also be made largely automated and verifiable, which is not completely possible with a box spring. Moreover, the box spring generally consists of an electrically conductive material which, with regard to the air and creepage distances, is not usable in a high-voltage application. Separate plastic clips are also known that are guided via the plug contact in order to connect it to the plug housing or the mating plug contact or the housing thereof. The clips, however, are not sufficiently resistant to vibrations. This applies in particular to plugs in the field of high-voltage application which have an electrically conductive plug contact with relatively great wall thickness in order to guide the relatively high power current, and which consequently on their own have a relatively high rigidity; in such case the clips formed from plastic can only contribute a low additional force to secure and fix the plug contact.
An inadequate contact of the plug contact with the housing and/or the mating plug contact of the mating plug connector results in the plug contact floating in the plug housing and thus in significant wear at the contact surface between the plug contact and mating plug contact. Finally, this results in contact resistances on the contact surface between the plug contact and mating plug contact, which can result in failures, and where applicable also in high transfer resistances and thus in supercritical temperatures inside a plug connection.